Aisha Tyler at The Fillmore

Buddhist. Vegetarian. Offspring of hippies. Aisha Tyler is every bit the average East Coaster's vision of San Francisco—with a cover-girl twist. The 37-year-old actress, who grew up in pre-chic Hayes Valley (she now lives in L.A.), will draw on her progressive background for her one-woman stand-up show, Aisha Tyler: Girl on Fire, at the Fillmore this month (it's being taped live for broadcast on Comedy Central). While Tyler is best known for her recurring role on Friends as one-third of the Joey-Ross-Charlie love triangle, the Dartmouth grad's résumé also includes hosting duties at Talk Soup and dramatic turns on 24 and CSI. Comedy, however, remains her first love—it's a skill she's been honing since grade school. "At an early age, I figured out how I could get laughs through great storytelling," Tyler says. "I always knew I was just a hair's breadth from being outdone by that kid who could blow milk through his nose—I couldn't let that happen."

What parts of your childhood make good fodder for comedy?
My parents were hippies and vegetarians. I was the only black kid in my school for most of my childhood. Being the only anything—the only black kid, the only poor kid, the only one who was eating sprouts while the other kids were eating Sno Balls—can have an alienating effect.

What does the "girl on fire" part of your show's title mean?
It's the purest expression of who I am. The "girl on fire" is someone who has every part of the engine firing, including a few that should probably be shut down for maintenance.

What topics will you be roasting in Girl on Fire?
Sex. Pop culture. Politics, not so much. I talk about sex because I'm married, and when you're married you're either in a never-getting-it phase or a just-got-it-thank-god phase or a not-gonna-get-it-for-a-while phase.

Have you ever been accused of not being black enough?
Millions of times. To think that there is some monolithic "black way" is beyond bullshit. When I was a kid, people would say to me, "You're black—you must like to do this." Throughout high school and college I snowboarded, skateboarded and listened to punk rock. It's my mission in life to do the opposite of what people expect. Maybe I'll be super-black.

How do you use your looks to your advantage?
In comedy, looks are a handicap. It's not that I think I'm so beautiful, but people do get suspicious if they think that you're prettier than they are. They think, "How can I relate to you? You have no problems." When I was a baby comedian, I would wear a giant denim shirt and combat boots, no makeup—I was so butch. Now onstage I never wear anything revealing, and I also do a lot of self-deprecation. I want people to feel like they're in a conversation with a friend, not some chick who's gonna flip her hair around for an hour. No one wants to hang out with that girl—I don't want to hang out with that girl.

What are you most vain about?
Any answer I give you is gonna be the wrong one.

That's the beauty of the question.
I'm a Buddhist, and I work very hard on my humility. As an artist, if you think you're great, you're already on your way to mediocrity. But I want to give you an answer, so I'll say that I'm most vain about my intelligence. Hope that's not too obnoxious.

Aisha Tyler: Girl on Fire
The Fillmore
August 16
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